Lighter Corn chowder

Lighten up!
With the weather in full blown rain mode, it is officially soup WEATHER! (cue the trumpets). It took me a while to get used to several months of rain, but now that I have discovered vitamin D capsules, and got an incredibly, unfashionable rain coat, I relish it! Soup is one of my favorite ways to receive nutrition, and I can’t think of a more comforting food when it’s blustery and wet. I like soup of all sorts but have tried to find ways to make cream soups a bit more figure friendly, not totally by any means but improved for sure, without losing the rich texture. I made this soup today because I had all the ingredients already, many were in the pantry! Makes the question of “what should I make?” a lot easier.
You will need:
2 ribs celery, chopped.
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped.
1 medium onion, diced.
1 clove garlic, chopped.
1 large potato (I used russet, but you could use sweet potatoes), peeled, large dice.
1 cup chopped ham (you can omit this if you are pork free, since 93″ but it adds a lot of flavor, smoked turkey could be substituted)
5 cups of stock
1/2 dry white wine
bay leaf
1 15 oz can good quality canned corn, drained.
1 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed.
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper to taste.
Optionals:
dash of hot sauce
pickled jalapenos for garnish, optional, jalapenos too hot for your taste? Try mild green chilies.
parsley for garnish
Smoked paprika for garnish.
Method:
Place celery, carrots, garlic, onion, bay leaf in a soup pot with the white wine and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat, add potatoes and ham. Simmer 30 minutes.
While soup simmers, make roux by melting butter in a small pan, add flour and cook until lightly browned and toasty.
Add roux to soup, bring back up to a simmer, add chickpeas (these will be used to get the creamy texture, that is usually done by adding heavy cream or half and half) and corn. Using a immersion blender, blend until it has a velvety texture. Check for salt and pepper, add as needed, simmer on low for at least 15 minutes, top with desired garnish. No one will know that you left out the excess fat!
I love this time of year, and this would be a good thing to serve the night before your Thanksgiving feast!